waiwai explores tashkent's modernist landmarks for sharjah architecture triennial

tashkent: appropriating modernism exhibition unveils in sharjah

In collaboration with Wael Al Awar of waiwai, the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation presents Tashkent: Appropriating Modernism at the 2023 edition of the Sharjah Architecture Triennial. The exhibition invites global engagement with Tashkent’s rich social, cultural, and modernist architectural legacy, exploring the evolution of three iconic landmarks in Tashkent: the State Museum of Arts, the teahouse Chaikhana Samarkand, and Zarafshan restaurant, all built during the mid-1970s.

Within the gallery space, an immersive spatial experience unveils the buildings at a 1:2 scale, highlighting key architectural fragments from two distinct phases of their existence — original construction and subsequent transformations. Contributions by artist Anahit Kayumova see a reinterpretation of the buildings’ ornamentation etched as surface textures on the reproductions. Drawing from historical and contemporary photographs, she creates intricate patterns that blend the structures’ original and configured facades, shedding light on their complex contemporary identity.

a reproduction of the columns and canopy of the Zarafshan restaurant at 1:2 scale, original and contemporary forms

all images by Ivan Erofeev, courtesy of Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation

waiwai and Anahit Kayuomva chart uzbekistan’s transformation

Wael Al Awar’s curated placement of the fragmented 1:2 scale building prompts contemplation of the city’s evolving relationship between modernism and architectural tradition. The architect reflects on the project’s significance, posing questions about the intersection of modernism and Tashkent’s vernacular architecture. Through the lens of the three case studies, he explores the evolution of modern architecture in the city and envisions a future vernacular unique to the Uzbek context. This can be read in the recreations of the corner of the State Museum of Arts with the original window and with its transformation into a pseudoclassicist element, the slanted wall of the Chaikhana Samarkand with modifications to its adjoining balcony, and the columns and canopy over the courtyard of the Zarafshan restaurant.

‘Uzbekistan has a rich history of vernacular architecture, and in the second half of the twentieth century this tradition encountered modernism, involving different materials and a much larger scale. Why did people feel the urge to intervene and appropriate modernism? And what do we preserve today—the original modernist structure or the reinterpretation with vernacular elements? Each of the architectural fragments on view has something special to say,’ he says.

a reproduction of the slanted wall and balcony of the Chaikhana Samarkand, original and contemporary forms

Part of the Tashkent Modernism XX/XXI research initiative commissioned by the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation, this project has been developed in coordination with Milan-based architecture studio, Grace. Its research led by Ekaterina Golovatyuk delves into the layers of history surrounding modernist projects across Tashkent, fostering a deeper understanding of the city’s architectural heritage and preservation challenges. The exhibition is presented at The Beauty of Impermanence: An Architecture of Adaptability, the 2023 edition of the Sharjah Architecture Triennial (more here), curated by the Lagos-based architect and designer Tosin Oshinowo.

Tashkent: Appropriating Modernism unveiled at Sharjah Architecture Triennial